The Great Resignation in Darlington, Hartsville, and Lake City

FLORENCE, S.C. — During the COVID-19 pandemic, a lot of Americans were introduced to working from home. For many Americans getting the newfound freedom to watch their kids throughout the day and work or simply have the flexibility to work and travel, was too good to leave behind.

This opened the doors to what is nationally known as the Great Resignation, or the “Big Quit” where millions of Americans are leaving their jobs because they are simply fed up with the inflexibility of employers.

According to an article published by Forbes, a record of 4 million people quit their jobs in April and many of them were low-paying jobs like retail. The same trend is happening in higher-paying jobs. Polls show that nearly 40% of white-collar employees would rather leave their jobs than give up the ability to work remotely. Even companies like Apple are trying to avoid having employees leaving as return-to-office policies are enforced.

This national phenomenon is affecting everyone across the board from McDonald’s employees to high-earning engineers and not only is this issue affecting the United States on a national scale, locally the impact is felt right in Darlington, Hartsville, and Lake City.

DarlingtonLisa Bailey, the city of Darlington’s economic director, said the Great Resignation has not affected Darlington as much because to some degree the municipality has always struggled to keep people due to being surrounded by larger employers that offer better pay and better benefits.

“We are limited by our finances as most small municipalities are,” Bailey said. “But we work to keep our expenses as low as possible and we provide valuable services to our residents and our customers.”

Bailey said the city has several positions open that have not been filled and the city is faced with the struggles of every business keeping employees due to rising inflation and limited revenue.

The morale of employees has also declined, Bailey said.

“The looming retirement of experienced, longtime employees does pose a challenge for the city,” she said. “Law enforcement especially will be affected by this because of the limited spaces at the police academy to get officers certified.”

For many seeking employment, a required vaccine shot is turning them away. Bailey said the city of Darlington does not have a vaccine requirement for employment. The city has avenues for employees to grow and allows those interested to get additional training for an opportunity to grow and move upward as they gain experience and education.

Darlington has room to grow when it comes to competitive wages to keep up with surrounding agencies. The city has seen growth as certain departments have increased their wages, she said.

“Wages in the street and sanitation department as well as water and sewer have been increased,” Bailey said. “As additional revenue comes in, it allows us to make these positions more competitive.”

City Manager Daniel Moore said the city of Hartsville has multiple vacant positions open that are ready to be filled. The city’s focus is on hiring qualified candidates and the city offers a competitive salary and benefits package.

“We have various vacancies across multiple departments, but all of our city service positions have been filled,” Moore said.

Retaining employees has been a challenge as Hartsville hires against private and public organizations.

“Retention is a huge focus for the city,” Moore said. “That is why we offer several extra incentives for our employees to keep them.”

The city of Hartsville is not focused on finding the right candidate as much as it is focused on finding someone willing to be trained to become the right employee.

“It comes down to what type of position the person is applying for,” Moore said. “Many of our positions can be trained for and we are more than willing to train the right candidate.”

The city does not have a vaccine mandate and believes that vaccination is a personal choice that is left to be decided by each employee, he said.

Stagnation is another element for the Big Quit, as many people are looking for companies that have room to grow and have upward mobility.

Moore said Hartsville has many opportunities for advancement that allow a candidate to grow and it is encouraged for all employees to take advantage.

Moore said the city is continuously evaluating compensation to be competitive in the market.

“In addition to competitive wages,” Moore said, “the city offers 14 paid holidays, consistently funded a cost-of-living adjustment, gives out Christmas bonuses, and merit bonuses that factor into a larger per-year take home than many of our competitors.”

Lake City Deputy Administrator Joseph Cooper said the hiring process for the city of Lake City remains challenging post-pandemic.

Cooper is also the city’s police chief. He said the main issue the city is facing is attracting the right candidate for the posted positions.

The city has created more positions because of growth, he said.

“Several positions were created to address the multiple city projects that are currently ongoing,” Cooper said. “These positions vary and include the division of police, fire, administrative, utilities, billing, wastewater, public works, economics, development and event planning.”

Employee retention has been difficult for Lake City as it has to compete with the economy and the current state of depression throughout the United States.

Cooper said there have been changes with what employees are expecting. Employees have changed from being concerned about long-time security to being focused on following the money.

“The average employee in the past would seek employment for the security of a long career with the payoff being retirement and medical benefits,” Cooper said.

“We are dealing with the uncertainty of the economy,” Cooper said. “The future during this economic crisis is uncertain. During the initial onset of COVID-19, citizens were living paycheck to paycheck. Then came the recommendation to stop all work and retreat to their homes. People were compensated for their lost wages during this period.”

“As we move on with this accepted norm, some people were forced to utilize funds that were earmarked for retirement. So in order to replace what I have lost in money, they have to follow the money and accept multiple positions from whomever is paying the most. So our candidate who we thought was going to begin work in two weeks, gets a call-back from a previous interview that is offering more money and they follow the money.”

Cooper said the city is not experiencing a shortage of staff, but is experiencing a shortage of applicants that have the experience for the posted positions.

“During the onset of the pandemic,” Cooper said, “the individuals that did not or could not return back to the workforce took time to re-evaluate and reflect on their lives and metaphorically pressed the reset button and pursued other career fields, that is why we have increased candidates that look good on paper, but lack the experience for the position.”

The city of Lake City does not have a vaccine requirement.

“We encourage all employees to take the necessary precautions to protect themselves and their co-workers to whom they spend several hours with on a daily basis and sometimes in close confines,” Cooper said. “In addition, if you contract the disease during your job duties and you’re not properly vaccinated, you are allowed to utilize sick leave until it’s exhausted. Once those hours are exhausted, your paycheck is then affected due to exhausted sick hours. It is within the employees’ best interest to get vaccinated to reduce the risk of infection and excessive sick leave.”

Cooper said the city offers many opportunities for career growth and advancement.

“The city of Lake City has resources for career growth and development,” Cooper said. “In addition to internal training and resources, we have additional available resources that are provided by the Municipal Association of South Carolina. This association is dedicated to offering services and programs that will give municipal officials the knowledge, experience, and tools for making the best possible public decisions in the complex world of municipal government. It is through this association that certification is earned, and careers are anchored so that its members may advance in their chosen field.”

The city’s wages are considered low in comparison to other municipalities of its size, Cooper said.

“The economic climate of COVID-19 and the attachment of this ongoing recession has really taken a big hit to the economy as it relates to loss wages and compensation for current employees or candidates seeking employment,” Cooper said.